EPA says Onondaga Lake trail over waste beds is safe, but don't stray

View full sizeDavid Lassman / The Post-Standard Bob Ellis, acting director of operations for Onondaga County Parks, stands on the waste beds near where the Onondagda Lake trail extension will be built.

Onondaga County is moving ahead with its plan to extend its planned “loop-the-lake” biking and walking trail over the old Allied waste beds on the lake’s western shore.

But just how safe will it be for large numbers of people to be up on those beds, which are essentially a 60-foot mountain of industrial waste from Solvay Process, Allied Chemical and other sources?

A headline on our print story today called the area a “hill of nontoxic waste.” But that does not tell the whole story.

The waste from the Solvay and Allied soda ash plant consists mostly of calcium carbonate, gypsum, sodium chloride and calcium chloride, although there are trace amounts of toxic materials such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic and zinc, according to Ed Michalenko, the president of the Onondaga Environmental Institute who has closely studied the waste beds.

Michalenko says that in sum, the material that is strictly Solvay waste from its soda ash production does not pose a health threat to humans. But there is a variety of other waste buried in the pile.

Hazardous waste dumped by Crucible Steel includes concentrations of toxic substances like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene and naphthalene. That’s in an area of the waste beds that was capped in 1988 under a plan approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Sewage sludge from the city of Syracuse was also dumped in the beds between 1925 and 1978.

It is believed other hazardous substances were dumped there over the past century, Michalenko said.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency studied the trail proposal and concluded there should be no health risks to people biking along the asphalt path. But it also also cautioned against people leaving the trail, and suggested the trail be fenced to prevent off-trail use.

The EPA only studied the surface of the waste beds, down to half a foot.

The chief hazard would come from inhaling contaminated dust kicking up off the surface. While people walking off the trail would likely not create a lot of dust, those riding ATVs would, the EPA said.

For visitors who spend time off the trail, the EPA found that cancer risks are at the “upper bound” of the acceptable risk range. However, non-cancer risks — specifically inhalation of dust contaminated with manganese — exceed the acceptable risk range.

Manganese is in concentrations slightly above the EPA’s risk levels at the surface of the waste beds. Although it is not a carcinogen, in high concentrations it can cause vomiting, weakness and aching of the head and body, according to federal occupational health guidelines. Long-term exposure to high concentrations can affect the nervous system.

David Coburn, the county’s environment director, said the EPA study was conservative, basing its risk assessment on people using the trail heavily for long periods and straying off it frequently.

Coburn said ATVs are prohibited in the park, but some people have used ATVs on the waste beds. When the trail is complete, physical barriers will bar ATVs from having access to the site, he said.